Kaj_Sotala comments on Outside the Laboratory - Less Wrong

63 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 21 January 2007 03:46AM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (336)

Sort By: Old

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: Kaj_Sotala 18 December 2013 07:47:56PM *  0 points [-]

No, unless I misremember terribly it was ordinary market spaghetti.

Comment author: Vaniver 18 December 2013 08:02:39PM 1 point [-]

Hmm. Well, you can vary the taste by throwing salt into the pot, but I've never found a level of salt that I thought would raise the quality more than a point on a ten point scale. Adding spices while boiling, like powdered garlic, will alter the taste somewhat but I think they're more effective in sauces / applied afterwards, and are often visible.

Comment author: Lumifer 18 December 2013 08:09:37PM 2 points [-]

If someone wants to experiment, my starting point would be this:

Take some good olive oil (extra-virgin, first cold press, etc.) and grate fresh garlic into it. Stir and let it stand covered for an hour or so. Once your pasta is ready, drain it, and then toss with the garlic-infused olive oil.

Comment author: Kaj_Sotala 18 December 2013 08:17:43PM *  1 point [-]

Apparently my mother tried to make some spaghetti according to my grandmother's instructions, but it never tasted the same to me. So either it was something really subtle, or there was a placebo effect involved (or both).

ETA: Though now that I think of it, I'm not entirely sure of the "bland" thing anymore - there might have been a sauce involved as well. Damn unreliable memories.